Course Projects

1. The first project involves the investigation of the issues associated with a specific healthcare industry problem from the perspective of either providers, insurers, state and federal governments, or the consumer. The report should address who are the players, what is the problem, why is this a problem, what proposals have been made for resolution, what is the status of the proposal, and what is the role of IT. Examples include physician profiling, HEDIS reporting, claims administration, and disease management. Discussion of the role of IT requires identification of a major vendor of software products for the problem, and identification of the gaps in existing solutions to the problem.
   

   This report should include

   (1) description of the problem and the context (30%)
   (2) analysis of the requirements of the problem (30%),
   (3) identification of a major software vendor and product which is a potential solution to the problem (10%),
   (4) discussion of the gaps in existing information systems approaches and solutions to the problem (10%)

    The report, composed as a Word document in 12 point and double spaced, should not exceed 15 pages. It should be justified on both sides and include page numbering, appropriate section titles, and references.

   Submissions should include a hard copy of the Word document, presentation slides, and a copy on disk (to include on the course web pages), due on the day of your presentations.

   Grading points:
   Content: 80% (as indicated above); Style (syntax, organization, references, etc. and presentation): 20%
    

   Date	Student Name	Project Title




2. The second project should explore the role of IT in providing an effective decision support solution strategy for a significant health care industry problem. The project should be accompanied by a prototype implementation of the proposed IT solution to the problem. Examples include an integration of microsoft office products into one working decision support system (e.g., relational database linked with Excel and powerpoint), EDI in simplifying and reducing costs associated with claims processing and an imaging application on the internet.

   This report should particularly emphasize the decision support component by integrating the database, spreadsheet, powerpoint and word components with hyperlinking (graphics and animations are possible, too) to create a comprehensive hypermedia report on the problem you have selected for study.

   (1) describing the big picture and the context (20%),
   (2) describing your specific problem (20%),
   (3) analyzing the decision support requirements of the problem (10%),
   (4) identifying the major components of the IT solution (10%),
   (5) examining the solution for sample "what-if" scenarios (15%),
   (6) conclusions and recommendations (5%)

    The report, composed as a Word document in 12 point and double spaced, should not exceed 15 pages. It should be justified on both sides and include page numbering, appropriate section titles, and references.

   Submissions should include a hard copy of the Word document (Executive Summary and full report) (all reports due on the first day of the presentations), presentation slides, and a copy on disk of the "integrated hypermedia document" (to include on the course web pages, due on the day of your individual presentations).

   Grading points:
   Content: 80% (as indicated above);
   Style (executive summary, syntax, organization, references, etc. and presentation): 20%
    

   Date	Student Name	Project Title

    

Examples of Project 1 from Spring 1998

• Selecting a Behavioral Health Information System
• Medical Records Systems
• Community Hospital Laboratory Information System
• HEDIS System
• Home Health Care System
• Imaging Systems
• Healthcare Scheduling Information System
• Surgical Information System

Example project from 1997

Examples of Project 2 from Spring 1998

• Home Health Care
• Computerized Decision Support in a Perioperative
  Environment
• Choice Health Plan (Information Technology Solutions)
• Implementation of Computer-based Patient Records
• Keep it Confidential: An Overview of Healthcare Information Security from a Systems Approach

Spring 1999 Project 1

Spring 1999 Project 2